To be honest, grubs don’t care much for streets. Streets tend to be dirty and full of scary cars. Grubs would much rather snuggle up on your lap or a bookshelf inside.

Our own resident graffiti grub, Urby, said hello to his new clone (as grubs are wont to do). Urby clones go by “Banksy” to help avoid confusion. In this photo, Urby is on the left and Banksy is on the right.

I’ve always loved this fabric (and I’ve always wanted to make a fish with it), so you can imagine my delight when a customer requested a betta fish made of it! I think “fish made with fish fabric” should become a thing.

Alas, this fabric is now retired (that was the last of it!). But there are still 400+ more fabrics to pick from if you’d like to order a customized plush betta of your own.

Here is the last plush made with Stormy Swirls. He’s a betta custom ordered through my Etsy shop, and he is the last of his kind.

I feel like I ought to say something. After all, it’s not every day I reach the end of several yards of flannel! Stormy Swirls caught my eye several years ago at Jo Ann Fabrics. I was smart to buy a few yards of it. It has been made into grubs, bettas, more grubs, a Christmas ornament, and more bettas. Goodbye, much-beloved Stormy Swirls. 🙂

If you like this betta and you’d like one just like it, too bad! That’s limited edition fabrics for ya.

I have updated the WeirdLittleFriends Etsy shop to offer twin bettas at a slight discount in response to popular demand (one potential buyer suggested she might want to buy two at once). Note that the twins do not need to be identical in any way.

Having two bettas lets you do many things that you cannot do with just one betta.

Host a chess game between the two bettas and see who wins

Nominate them as President and Vice President

Reenact Othello

Have less space in your bed than you would have if you only had one betta in your bed

Twin bettas are already a documented phenomenon, usually happening under any of the following circumstances:

A customer orders a clone of a betta I already have in my collection

I make a betta for someone and love it so much I make a second one for myself

Disturbance in the force

And it’s worth mentioning that grubs are not immune to the twinning forces.

On this chilly afternoon I decided a miniature betta might make a nice addition to the plush family. Such a betta would travel well, be an excellent conversational partner, and look nice on my Christmas tree which is already threatening to topple over from the weight of the numerous full-size betta plushies that inhabit its branches.

The littlest betta plush began his journey of creation with a pattern sketched on the nearest scrap of paper I could find.

I then pinned this pattern to an equally nearby scrap of fabric and began cutting out his form. Once done, the cut-out shape is ready for stitching.

Which I did not bother to photograph. 🙁

Suffice to say, I stitched around his perimeter leaving a small hole through which I flipped him right-side out. Rows of stitches define the separation between his body and his fins, and stuffing gave his body fullness. His eyes and mouth are simple black embroidery thread.

Goldie is such a tiny betta! His little chin fins were the most difficult part to flip, and as a result I have chosen to omit them from his revised pattern, which I will share in a future post.